Popular Culture Review 32.1
spent with these characters during the deliberation that leads to these choices . Moira ’ s escape is not seen on-screen , and while the tension between motherhood and escape were always part of Maeve ’ s role , the choice is a split-second decision that is immediately overshadowed by a return to Dolores ’ s confrontation for the rest of the episode . Each series ’ first season ends with their Black women confused and emotionally drained , but those scenes are only presented to viewers because they directly move the plot forward — not because the creators want to delve into the emotional experiences of oppressed Black women .
It might prove useful to return to the opening paragraph of this essay and consider the New Orleans visitors who make a different choice at Highway 18 . Those who turn right and follow the Mississippi soon encounter the Whitney Plantation , a newcomer to the plantation tourism trade . Opened in 2014 , the Whitney takes as its mission the education of the public about “ the history of slavery and its legacies ” (“ History of Whitney Plantation ”). In lieu of paper tickets , visitors are given a lanyard with an artistic rendering of a formerly enslaved child , their name , and a direct quote of their experience while enslaved . The emphasis of this tour are the places where enslaved persons lived , worked , and were punished . The “ big house ” is not restored to its previous state ; it merely serves as a referent for the rest of the plantation . And if the magnificent oaks of Oak Alley form a monument to that place , then the Whitney has instead its own memorials , including three different sites that honor the lives of Black men and women . “ The Wall of Honor ,” for example , is “ dedicated to all the people who were enslaved on the Whitney Plantation . [ Their ] names and the information related to them ( origin , age , skills )... [ are ] engraved on granite slabs ” (“ The
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